National and Durango agencies to participate at Three Springs event

National as well as local providers of mental-health services are scheduled to talk with professionals and the public about suicide prevention and available resources Saturday at Three Springs Plaza.

The event, called Fresh Check Day, is sponsored by the Jordan Matthew Porco Memorial Foundation. The foundation was started by the parents of a 18-year-old St. Michael’s College (Vt.) student who died by suicide in February 2011.

“They had a website up and running within a month,” said Nancy Brockman, the principal of Durango-based Chimera Communications and a family friend. “Marisa and Ernest Porco want to make a difference.”

Brockman is a member of the foundation board.

The Porcos did a lot of research into mental health and suicide after their son’s death, Brockman said. The first Fresh Check Day, held in April at East Connecticut State College, was attended by more than 1,000 people who visited booths staffed by organizations in the mental-health field.

Marisa Porco will attend Fresh Check Day at Three Springs.

“The mission of Fresh Check Day is to promote positive mental health, educate people about the signs and symptoms of mental-health disorders and open channels to remove the stigma surrounding mental health,” Brockman said. “The mission is to encourage community members to reach out for help when needed – with particular emphasis on the younger generation.”

Brockman offers a list of did-you-know facts:

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds.

One in 10 college students contemplates suicide.

Native Americans, and homosexual, bisexual and transgendered young people are at greater risk.

Outside of combat, more members of the American military die by suicide than any other cause.